Coconut Coast/East Side

The Kawaihau District is commonly refered to as the COCONUT COAST and is located on the island’s eastern shore. It begins at the Wailua River State Park at the southern end and continues north to Moloa’a Bay.

The corridor that comprises the Royal Coconut Coast encompasses some of Kauai’s best scenery, from mountains to sea. Eight miles of sandy beaches define its eastern boundary, and hundreds of acres of backcountry form the western border. The Coconut Coast’s beauty has made it a natural for tourism but it doesn’t feel crowded. It’s still easy to find peace and quiet on the beaches and trails and plenty of open space and wilderness. Yet all the services, such as shops, restaurants, banks, medical facilities, activity centers and churches, are right there, too.

Home to Wailua, Kapa’a, Kealia, Anahola, and Moloa’a, the Coconut Coast is rich in variety. It’s an ideal area to experience the beauty of Kauai, especially with a visit to the Wailua area with many heiaus (sacred sites), petroglyphs, and other unique points of Hawaiian culture.

East Kauai is where the majority of the population lives. As of the 2003 census, the Kawaihau district’s population of 19,225 is almost one third of Kauai’s 60,000 population.

Thousands of coconut trees, planted a century ago, fill the area. However, the venture was not successful, but the stately trees still stand as a tribute to his attempt. Along the ocean, this Coconut Coast is actually an old Coconut Tree farm that was planted by German entrepeneur who planned on starting a coconut empire that has been developed with the Coconut Marketplace Shopping Center, other small shopping centers and a number of hotel and condominium resorts.

The Coco Palms in Wailua is currently being re-developed. This was the first tourist destination built on Kauai! This property is famous in many films including: South Pacific, Blue Hawaii and Sadie Thompson, as well as in the “Fantasy Island” television series.

Old Kapa’a Town is a quaint 19th century plantation town. And as little as Kapaa is, it’s quite full of many small businesses and shops catering to visitors and locals alike. The streets are lined with a variety of unique shops and many restaurants. A wonderful place to take a stroll and see the wares of local merchants.

Near to Kapa’a is Nonou, the “Sleeping Giant”, a mountain ridge part of which resembles the face of such a sleeping monster. Look between Wailua and Kapaa to see what looks like the figure of a man on his back. Legend has it that this was a pesky giant who ate constantly. The villagers of Wailua, tired of feeding the giant, tricked him into eating a great number of rocks hidden in a vast quantity of fish and poi. The giant was so full that he lay down to take a nap, fell into a deep sleep, and has yet to wake up. Other folklore states that in ancient times, the people of Kauai planned to discourge any invaders to their island by lighting fires behind the mountain. This would illuminate the figure of the giant and thus scare off any invasion forces.

North of Kapaa Beach is 150-foot wide, 1/2 mile long Kealia beach. popular with surfers and boogie boarders. However, always check on ocean conditions yourself before entering the water. The north shore of the beach once was used for inter-island steamer landings when nearby Kealia was a plantation town. A few ruins of the dock still remain. In ancient times, Hawaiians would gather salt from this area that formed on the sand flats. Today salt is mined from the dunes adjacent to the highway.